Opportunity Details
Community Tree Planting - Roy West Park w/ VA IPL
Trees for a Healthier Future!
Tree canopy coverage is an important asset to urban areas - creating healthier, safer, and more connected communities. From cleaning our air and filtering our water, to slowing down storm surge and flooding in our cities, trees also provide shade that can cool neighborhoods by up to 10 degrees, helping to prevent heat-related deaths and illessess in urban areas that suffer from heat island effect. Green spaces and park settings are also linked to better health outcomes, such as reducing stress-related mental health issues, improving overall health development in children, as well as encouraging physical activity.
Join the City of Richmond's Parks & Rec and Virginia Interfaith Power & Light for a community tree planting! We will be planting young trees at Roy West Park, located in the Northside. This will be our "round 2" of plantings, focusing on creating shade across the two sidewalks that cross the park. Not only will these trees help to beautify the area and create habitat for birds and other local wildlife, but once reaching maturity, they will also cast a cooling shade over frequently used sidewalks and slow down rain fall so that it can be soaked into the ground and not run off into the nearby sewer or cause localized flooding.
Volunteer Duties & Responsibilities:
Volutneers will be assisting staff from Parks & Rec and VA IPL in planting new trees, as well as improving growing conditons of exsisting trees. Duties will include digging holes, moving and amending soil, moving and carrying buckets and pots, pitching and spreading mulch, watering and some hand weeding. We will be planting a mix of 7-gallon & 15-gallon sized potted trees, which while are smaller in size than your typical tree planting, will still require a bit of heavy lifting and manual labor. Volunteers will want to bring along sunscreen or a head covering, as well as a refillable water bottle (and snack if needed). Please no young children or pets!
Qualifications, Skills, & Requirements:
Tools and gloves will be provided, but feel free to bring along your own gloves if preferred. Be sure to wear sturdy closed toed shoes/boots, long pants and long sleeves. No prior experience or special skills necessary, though some lifting (max. 50lbs), bending, squating, stooping, kneeling, reaching, grasping, pushing/pulling, hauling, and walking long distances across uneaven grassy lawns will be required. Knowledge of proper root-pruning techniques would be a bonus, but not at all required (let us know if you can help with it though!). All activities will be located in a grassy open lawn area, located next to a road heavily used by work trucks and equipment, so please be prepared to deal with vehicular traffic. Please be aware of the weather forecast, and dress accordingly (this event is rain or shine, however advance communication will be sent if we need to cancel).
Time Commitment:
This volunteer opportunity will be on Saturday, January 17th from 12pm to 3pm. Please arrive on time and plan on staying for the full 3-hours. All attendees must pre-register!
Other Information:
- Volunteer hours will be verified within 72hrs after the end of the event, though the CFengage website. Please bring your paperwork with you if a seperate form needs to be signed.
- If arriving by bicycle, there are fence posts available, just be sure to bring a cable lock
- If arriving by GRTC Bus, Route 1, Route 2a, Route 2b, & Route 2c has nearby stops. Please visit http://ridegrtc.com/planning-your-trip/trip-planner for more details.
- If arriving by vehicle, please give yourself some extra time on arriving to be able to find on-street parking. Car pooling is encouraged!
Have questions or want to learn more details about this event? Feel free to reach out to Qui.Nguyen@rva.gov!
Environment
Age Minimum (with Adult): 13+, Minimum Age:18+, Court Ordered Volunteer - Allowed
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